Let’s face it. Those of us who are longtime Bills fans have had way too many times when we’ve been discouraged, or depressed, or just plain sad.
That’s what I’m feeling this weekend. A profound sense of sadness. And not just because of yet another wasted season. Although I can’t remember a team that went from so exciting to so embarrassing so quickly.
No, it’s more than that. The reason it’s hitting home this weekend is because of the opponent. It’s Bills-Dolphins. At home. In December. In the snow. AND NO ONE CARES.
How many times over the years did we circle this game on the schedule? When the Bills were good, it was our chance to see them Squish the Fish. A chance to stomp our most hated rivals in front of 80,000 screaming fans who….as Marv Levy would say…..couldn’t think of any place they’d rather be than right there, right then.
Even when the Bills were bad, it was still important. Look how many times we said if the Bills could only win one game, this was the one.
Think about the rivalry. The Streak. The Juice. Kelly-Marino. Shula-Levy. Bryan Cox. Jimmy Johnson & the Flutie Flakes.
The Bills hated the Dolphins. The Dolphins hated the Bills. Bills fans hated Dolphins fans. Dolphins fans hated Bills fans.
Not any more. Yes, it’s a game between division rivals….and every once in a while it matters in the standings….but with the Bills into their second straight decade without the playoffs, and the Dolphins only occasionally making them…..and the Patriots taking over as the team everyone hates…..we’ve gone from important to irrelevant.
What’s the best we can hope for? A Bills win? Not likely. Not being embarrassed? Hopefully. Speaking of which…..admit it, aren’t we relieved that Matt Moore is starting instead of J.P. Losman? Didn’t we have that sinking feeling that Losman was going to beat the Bills and make this awful season complete? Of course even if he isn’t starting, it still could happen. We’re Bills fans. We expect things like that.
But maybe….just maybe….the Bills have one more good game in them this year. One more good effort. Maybe they’re actually embarrassed about the butt-kicking they got in Miami. Maybe they have some pride. Maybe they’ve heard just a little about Bills-Dolphins history.
I want to talk about two of those games. Not the ones you might be thinking of. The 1980 season opener….the one that ended Oh for the 70’s, and is still the single greatest season opener in Bills history. Or the 1989 season opener in Miami….the one where Jim Kelly stunned everyone and won the game on a last-second quarterback draw.
I want to talk about two games at the Ralph. (actually, it was still Rich Stadium then) One in the regular season, one in the playoffs. One a Dolphins win, one a Bills victory. But to me, they both symbolize what used to be the significance of this rivalry.
September 26, 1993: Bird is the word
The Bills lost this game. One of only four losses that year. But this game featured one single moment that pretty much summarized the entire Bills-Dolphins rivalry. Bryan Cox and his fingers. The middle ones. Both of them. You remember Bryan Cox, don’t you? The Dolphins linebacker is probably our most-hated Miami player of all time…and that’s saying a lot. We hated him, and he hated us. The week leading up to the game, Cox talked a lot about hating Buffalo. He had received hate mail from Bills fans. A lot of it. And a lot of it was pretty nasty. And when he entered the stadium, fans let him know what they thought of him. So he responded. With a double-barreled salute. CAPTURED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION. He apologized for that part of it. Not for flipping the bird to Bills fans...for being caught on TV. He said he was sorry it "went beyond his intended audience".
The league fined Cox 10 grand. He appealed. It was reduced to three thousand dollars. But Cox sued the league, claiming they forced him to work in a hostile environment. (when was the last time anyone said that about playing at the Ralph?) Cox continued to be hated by Bills fans. In fact, a few years later, when he was kicked out of a game after a fight, a security guard booed him on his way out!
By the way, Cox returned to the Dolphins this year as an assistant coach. So the poster boy for this rivalry, is back in Buffalo for a Bills-Dolphins game. I wonder if he’ll keep his hands in his pocket.
December 30, 1995: End of the line
The Bills and Dolphins met several times in the playoffs in the early 1990’s. In the Bills’ first Super Bowl season, they beat the Dolphins in the divisional playoffs, in a 44-34 shootout at Rich Stadium. In the 1992 season, they met in the AFC Championship….the Dolphins were the home team, but the Bills stomped them 29-10 at Joe Robbie. But the 1995 wild-card game at the Ralph was my favorite. The Bills ran the ball. A lot. They broke the league record for rushing yards in a game, with 341. They ran right over the Dolphins. Even Don Shula. In a play that pretty much summarized the game, when Thurman Thomas ran out of bounds he ran right into Shula. The Bills won the game 37-22. They haven't won a playoff game since.
But this one was special. And the icing on the cake? It was Shula’s LAST GAME as coach. His last time on the sideline in an NFL game was right here. And he lost.
Look, I don’t expect anything memorable in tomorrow’s game. But if there was ever a game for the Bills to give their fans something to cheer about, this is the one. It’s Bills-Dolphins. Bryan Cox is back!
This game used to mean a lot. Maybe it can mean something again. Maybe we don’t have to be so sad.
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